At Easter, I would ask you to spare a thought for the millions of incarcerated hens which will die as soon as they fail to lay sufficient eggs.

Why is it that the human race appears to applaud baby animals, for instance, chicks, lambs, and so on, but once they are a little older, we close our eyes to their destinies (too unpleasant to think about).

Every year, more than six million male chicks are killed shortly after hatching, in inhumane ways.

Their lives are apparently worth nothing at all.

In the UK, 35 million eggs are eaten every day, despite the fact they are high in cholesterol.

This, despite the fact that there are plenty of

egg replacement foods available.

It’s almost as though people care as little for their health as they do for the sentient animals being incarcerated for their pleasure.

The ridiculous row over the new British passports being made in France has shown Remainers and Brexiteers alike at their worst.

For Remainers, it has presented the perfect opportunity to query the whole point of Brexit and to taunt Brexiteers by caricaturing them as little Englanders, horrified at the notion of a precious symbol of post-EU freedom being manufactured by our European neighbour.

This decision will save British taxpayers £120m so how can it possibly be described as being a bad deal for Britain? Any British company which wanted this business would have had to undercut their French rival in the spirit of competition which is the whole point of the free and open market which must thrive after Britain has left the EU if Brexit is to be a success. The global market, which an independent Britain must now enter, is no place for tired old Buy British campaigns. This is a deal which demonstrates that post-EU Britain will be open to the world and will not turn in on itself. For surely Brexit was never supposed to be about returning to the comfort blankets of old-fashioned protectionism and public-sector profligacy, at least not the Brexit that I voted for.

Richard Hopwood

via email

obituary

Prof Hawking a true inspiration

Readers will be aware that the sad news of Professor Stephen Hawking’s death has invoked a cascade of accolades from all areas of society, such was the enormous impact of his brilliant life.

Professor Hawking’s legacy in his groundbreaking field of physics must surely place him alongside icons such as Newton and Albert Einstein.

Given Professor Hawking’s medical prognosis, after a diagnosis of motor neurone disease in his early 20s of two to three years’ life expectancy, to live to the age of 76 is almost as phenomenal as his scientific achievements. The greatest accolade must surely be to recognise Professor Hawking’s colossal scientific achievements in the face of such adversity. It is highly unlikely the world will ever again see the combination of such a unique ‘scientific intellect’ and the ability to astound the medical profession. Professor Hawking should be an inspiration to each and every one of us, not just the world of science.

AJ Sheraton

Retired Science Lecturer

politics

Rees-Mogg

and Russia

I was listening to a radio phone-in show recently and heard one of the callers say “Thank God for Jacob Rees-Mogg.” I could hardly believe my ears. As a member of a government that is stuffed with ‘drivelling hypocrites’, Rees Mogg seems to be in a class of his own.

“We must stand up to Russia” he told his followers on Twitter on March 12, as tensions escalated following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, but does Rees-Mogg practise what he preaches?

Jacob Rees-Mogg apparently finds his income as an MP too meagre to live on, so he supplements this through being part-owner of a fund management company called Somerset Capital.

This company has an Emerging Markets Growth Fund worth £1.5bn. The sixth biggest holding is Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank. This bank has been on international sanctions lists since 2014. Jacob Rees-Mogg has a funny way of demonstrating defiance to the Russians!